1. Target youth politicians
Activists found it particularly helpful to get youth wings political parties on side, as main wings of political parties are often keen to listen and take the views of their younger counterparts seriously. In some cases, activists found it useful to make the point that youth politicians are the senior politicians of the future and that any changes that they are in favour of will inevitably be the policies of the future and are more likely to be on “the right side of history”. Some campaigns found that allowing youth politicians to advocate for legal gender recognition to be extended to minors was compelling, perhaps because they are well placed to empathise with the situation of their peers.
2. De-medicalise the campaign
Many of the activists we interviewed mentioned de-medicalisation of gender recognition laws being important in their campaigns. De-medicalisation involves separating the legal gender recognition process from the public association with medical treatment or diagnoses. It was observed that the public often finds it difficult to separate these two concepts and this can result in apprehension about expanding access to legal gender recognition processes. Indeed, in certain countries, medical and legal processes are still interlinked. Therefore, campaigns which seek to reform legal gender recognition laws have the task of separating these concepts through educational campaigns, so that legal gender recognition can be seen in the eyes of the public as distinct from gender confirmation treatments. This also means minors may be more likely to be able to access the processes, as one of the reasons often cited by opponents and critics in such countries for denying such access to minors is that young people should not have irreversible surgeries until they are of the age of maturity. Activists have sought to educate the public that legal gender recognition is a purely civil process.
3. Use case studies of real people
Telling real stories of people who have gone through the legal gender recognition process humanises and personalises the campaign, better enabling politicians and the general public to relate, increasing empathy and understanding. This technique has been used in several countries to great effect, most notably in Malta. This campaign technique is not always possible due to the cultural environment in the specific country. For example, in the UK, the debate surrounding reform of legal gender recognition laws has been politically charged and trans people have suffered more hate crime than in previous years. Therefore, the employment of such techniques should proceed with caution and organizations should take all necessary measures to protect the individuals involved.
4. Anonymise the narratives
Most notably in Malta, TV programmes and/or other fictional narratives based upon real stories which are acted out have made an impact on swaying public perceptions. These can be helpful where a person does not feel safe to be put on a platform (online or otherwise) for fear of abuse.
5. Get ahead of the government agenda and the media story
In many of the NGO advocacy campaigns that we studied, there were clear benefits where NGOs managed to get ahead of the government and publish progressive legislative proposal before the government had time to develop their own. NGOs need to intervene early in the legislative process and ideally before it has even started. This will give them far greater ability to shape the government agenda and the ultimate proposal than if they intervene after the government has already started to develop its own proposal. Where NGOs fail to intervene early, the ultimate gender recognition legislation may be far less progressive than activists would like. This lesson applies equally to the media. There is a real risk that where advocates fail to intervene early, sensitizing the media and the public to trans rights in general and legal gender recognition in particular, persistent negative and pernicious narratives about the trans rights agenda may take hold in the public imagination which will negatively influence the legislative process and the prospects for success. 6. Use human rights as a campaign point
Based on our research, human rights arguments have been instrumental to the success of several campaigns for more progressive gender recognition laws. In Norway, human rights arguments were a cornerstone of activists’ campaigns. Prior to the most recent legal reforms, those seeking to legally change gender in practice had to undergo sterilisation (although this requirement did not appear in formal legislation). The result was that Norwegian campaigners had a compelling argument that the human rights of trans people were being breached and this was a key factor in the success of their campaign. Belgium had a similar situation, with their laws being publicly condemned by the UN in 2014 for violating human rights by requiring sterilisation before gender could be reassigned. This prompted a campaign to legislate to prevent these violations, and now Belgium has one of the more progressive pieces of legal gender recognition legislation in the world. Irish activists also used human rights arguments in their political campaign, factoring in human rights principles in their video campaigns. It is unclear exactly why this approach has been successful. It could be that the political stigma of a human rights violation, and the resultant international scrutiny is a factor at play. Another possibility is that the approach humanises trans people and makes their situation more relatable.
7. Tie your campaign to more popular reform
In Ireland, Denmark and Norway, changes to the law on legal gender recognition were put through at the same time as other more popular reforms such as marriage equality legislation. This provided a veil of protection, particularly in Ireland, where marriage equality was strongly supported, but gender identity remained a more difficult issue to win public support for.
8. Avoid excessive press coverage and exposure
Another technique which has been used to great effect is the limitation of press coverage and exposure. In certain countries, like the UK, information on legal gender recognition reforms has been misinterpreted in the mainstream media, and opposition has arisen as a result. The effects of this can be dangerous: two out of five transgender people experience hate crime each year in the UK, with young people the least likely to report incidents to the police.37 One in four trans people (26 per cent) directly experience transphobic abuse online each month.【38】 The UK Home Office have reported that hate crime in general has risen by 48 per cent between 2014 and 2017, with the number of recorded hate crimes and incidents based on sexual orientation rising by 70 percent over the same period.【39】 Against this background, many believe that public campaigning has been detrimental to progress, as much of the general public is not well informed about trans issues, and therefore misinterpretation can arise. In Ireland, activists have directly lobbied individual politicians and tried to keep press coverage to a minimum in order to avoid this issue. Similarly, in Norway, campaigners developed strong ties with youth politicians, who then presented to the senior members of their parties on the changes that were needed. This technique was effective at persuading more senior politicians, as the changes were being suggested from within their own party rather than an external organisation. We also saw this technique in Denmark.【37】 Chaka L. Bachmann and Becca Gooch, ‘LGBT in Britain: Hate Crime and Discrimination’, Stonewall, (https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/lgbt_ in_britain_hate_crime.pdf) 【38】 Ibid. The Stonewall report also notes; The UK Home Office reported that hate crime in general rose by 48 per cent between 2014 and 2017, with the number of recorded hate crimes and incidents based on sexual orientation rising by 70 percent over the same period. However, trans people’s experiences of hate crime were only included in the report in 2017, so the specific rate of change could not be addressed. 【39】 Ibid

9. Carpe diem
It is really important for NGO activists to seize the moment when promoting legal gender recognition. Activists need to quickly capitalise on political momentum. Such momentum may, for example, arise from: changing dynamics in the domestic political constellation following elections; public backlash against anti-LGBTI sentiment among certain political parties; international condemnation of a state by the international community with respect to its record on trans rights; or strategic litigation related to trans rights either domestically or at a regional human rights court or international human rights body. These political moments can be brief, but present a window of opportunity which NGOs that we interviewed have used very effectively to lobby for improved legal gender recognition processes.
10. Work together
It is crucial for NGO activists to work collaboratively; with domestic LGBTI organisations, with international and regional trans rights organisations; and with human rights experts in academia. In the campaigns we studied, such collaboration has a number of positive effects: it ensures that those organisations and individuals with the most relevant expertise (e.g. in relation to trans youth) are brought into the campaign at the right moment to make sure key perspectives and nuance are not omitted; it ensures that the highest human rights standards emerging from comparative experience are drawn upon; it ensures that NGOs that may be weaker on one aspect (e.g. lobbying) but stronger on another (e.g. grass roots campaigning with trans youth) are supported by organisations with complementary skills; and it ultimately gives greater legitimacy to a national campaign and maximizes the prospects of success.
11. Be wary of compromise
A final lesson from the campaigns we studied, is that activists should be wary of compromise; compromise can be a double-edged sword. For example, in Ireland, compromise on legal gender recognition for young trans persons was critical to getting the legislation passed, but it might take years to revise the legislation to render it more favourable to trans youth.